Maria:
The house feels… arranged when I walk in.
Not loud. Not tense. Just—set.
Like something has already been decided and I’m the last person being let in on it.
“Maria.”
I barely get two steps into the living room before my mother calls me back.
Of course.
I turn slowly, already bracing myself.
She’s seated. Composed. Waiting.
And she’s not alone.
Daniel’s parents are here.
And Daniel—
He’s already there, sitting like he belongs in the middle of all of this. Relaxed in that way he does, like nothing around him has the power to shake him unless he decides it does.
I take the empty seat beside him.
I don’t look at him yet.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
No one answers immediately.
That’s never a good sign.
My mother folds her hands together. Calm. Too calm.
“There’s been a l
